Zinedine Zidane, widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of our time, has claimed that Paul Scholes is as close to the complete footballer as you can get and regrets never getting to play alongside him.

“He’s almost untouchable in what he does,” said Zidane. “I never tire of watching him play. You rarely come across the complete footballer, but Scholes is as close to it as you can get. One of my regrets is that the opportunity to play alongside him never presented itself during my career. He was an extremely tough opponent to play against. You didn’t get any time on the ball when he was around. He would close you down and make your life terribly uncomfortable. He is the type of player you want on your side, not in opposition because he could do so much damage. He is very gifted. He makes the game look easy because he’s so much natural ability.”

COMMENT A Malay daily recently declared that a civil war would break out in the country. And this war would dwarf the May 13 1969 racial riot – the worst in Malaysia’s history. The war, said the newspaper, is a response to a non-existing amended constitution that abolishes the special position of the Malays and Islam.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin also made reference to the 1969 riot in his comment when he reminded his Barisan Nasional (BN) colleague, Dr Chua Soi Lek, to tone down his demands to scrap what the government likes to call the pro-Malay economic policy.